Focus Problems with Mamiza RZ67 Pro ii HELP!!!

Hi All,
I spent the past weekend at a portrait workshop and have started having problems focussing my Mamiya RZ67 Pro ii. I have the waist level viewfinder with a +3 magnifyer fitted, the screen is the standard matte type. The view is clear and bright but I find that I am having trouble getting the focus right. I wear glasses and as far as I know my script is still accurate.

Anyone have a problem with the waist level viewer? Would a prism viewfinder and the magnifyer attachment make a difference? Or is it all downhill now that I am over 50?

Regards

Brendan

If you're a bit nearsighted, you can help it by pushing the magnifying lens a little bit toward the ground glass. Try practicing with a far object and the lens set to infinity: move the magnifying lens up and down and see if there's a position in which the ground glass looks crystal clear.

See your eye doctor. Bifocals maybe in order for better vision.

Claire Senft said:

See your eye doctor. Bifocals maybe in order for better vision.

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Already done that, gone past the bifocal stage and the latest 'multifocals' that I have are causing me the problems now. Sometimes I think I should ditch the lot and get a really strong magnifying glass, with glasses I often wonder if what I am seeing is really sharp or are the glasses making me think it is sharp? If you can understand that?

Very frustrating.

Brendan

I had a much easier time when I got the prism finder for my SL-66. There was a lot of external light using the waist level finder that gave me trouble focussing on the dimmer screen. I also bought a brighter screen and it helped too. Some of the prism finders allow you to attach a diopter lens.

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--John

Have you tried using a different magnifying lens in the finder? If you have a simple magnifying glass, try holding that above the finder to see if it makes a difference.

I assume from the reference to age that you are having problems in accomodation; are you normally long or short sighted? I always preferred a waist level finder as I'm short sighted, and didn't need glasses to focus on the screen.

It might be an idea to try a different focussing screen. The matte screen on the RZ (which I have) is intended to intrude as little as possible on the image you see on the screen (the idea is so that it's easier to compose the image). You can get various sorts (about five different sorts I think) - one with a split screen might make focussing easier. The matte screen can be a little tricky, especially if you're having to work quickly.

Multifocals

Magpie said:

Already done that, gone past the bifocal stage and the latest 'multifocals' that I have are causing me the problems now. Sometimes I think I should ditch the lot and get a really strong magnifying glass, with glasses I often wonder if what I am seeing is really sharp or are the glasses making me think it is sharp? If you can understand that?

Very frustrating.

Brendan

Click to expand...

I wear bifocals, because I once had multi-focals, and had exactly this problem, apparently in reflex viewing cameras the focusing screen is either set at an apparent distance of either infinity or one meter, and because the magnification varies down the multi-focus lens it's very difficult to know if you are looking through your camera at your reading , or your distance proscription.
I find with my equipment ( Mamiya TLRs and Canon SLR ) the distance proscription works fine on my glasses.

I have an RZ67. I wear bifocals. This is already enough of a complication in using the viewing screen and to focus by looking thru the proper part of the eye glasses.. With trifocals it can only be more frustrating in making sure your a looking thru the right area of your glasses.

Perhaps the answer is to get a set of glasses or a modified magnifier for your waist level finder to correct your eyesight for the proper distance built into the viewing system. Mamiya I believe offers you sime options in this regard.

A specially ground eyepiece may be expensive but along with a cord for your glasses be the very best choice. You would need to ask Mamiya which distance this needs corrected and that needs to be taken into consideration with adjustment needed for your eyesight at that distance. Ask Mamiya for this info.

This type of problem arises in pistol shooting where the proper place to bring into focus is the front sight on the pistol with all other distances being secondary to that. Competition shooters having less thay adequate sight at that distance have special glasses made for them.

One really nice accessory you might want to consider in the RZ67 AE Magnifying Hood. I love my waistlevel finder but getting dust on the focusing screen every time you open it drives me nuts. The AE Magnifying Hood is basically a rigid waist level finder, but it's got a huge viewing diopter which is adjustable for your eyesight while offering a large 2.5x magnification vs the 1.1x of the waistlevel finder and is very easy to view the entire image even with glasses. It's also got aperture priority spot metering, but I never use that feature. These are rare and hard to find but they show up on ebay from time to time, I got mine for $125. This is what it looks like:
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